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Due to competitive pressure pharmaceutical companies are also driven to increase the efficiency of their processes. In this paper an approach for the predictive detection of malfunctions of filling systems for powdery pharmaceutical products using machine learning is presented. The focus is on the prediction of filling deviations with recurrent neural networks, with the objective to detect a drift in the process stability to intervene accordingly.

Blockchain technology (BCT) is one of the most promising technologies of the present that will be of even greater importance in the future, especially for manufacturing companies, in order to improve cross-company collaboration and make processes more transparent to the customer. However, BCT is not yet widely used as a trusted tool to ensure a clean and unadulterated flow of information. In addition to the potential, this paper discusses the challenges for the use of BCT and derives a solution concept based on the St. Gallen Management Model that shows potential BCT users possible application scenarios.

The progressive digitization of the working environment requires an infrastructure in production and logistics companies. In addition to establishing communication networks, a digitized infrastructure can itself be used as the subject of intelligent behaviour. Using the example of intelligent lighting control in port logistics, this article provides an overview of the potentials and hurdles that exist. First, it be examines how infrastructures in ports are structured and which technical solutions exist to implement intelligent control methods. Thereafter, it shows the potential arising from such intelligent lighting control, example given up to 35 % saving of energy costs allocated to electricity, and what hurdles must be overcome beforehand.

Blockchain and distributed ledger technologies (BC/DLT) have attracted social and scientific attention at least since the success of Bitcoin and Ethereum as so-called cryptocurrencies. This attention leads to multidisciplinary dynamics whose euphoria often leads to a neglect of scientific thoroughness. As one facet, immutability is a core characteristic and often postulated property of the system. However, it is hardly possible to identify an analysis of the counter side, namely the sustainability of this technology. This article deals with different aspects of the sustainability of BC/DLT and relates them to the requirements of BC/DLT.

Solutions to increase the efficiency of industrial supply chains, such as vendor managed inventory or Kanban, are not new. But thanks to technologies such as the 0G network from Sigfox and blockchains, it is becoming ever easier to digitize these strategies and to add automatic delivery confirmations, invoicing and collection in one go. The cost of immutable digital twins is becoming more and more affordable.

The complexity of production and logistics systems generates the demand for industrial transformation: with sensor technology that enables efficient, flexible and reliable process monitoring and control using a 5G communication-infrastructure. In the “5GSensPRO” project, the Fraunhofer IPT in Aachen is developing a modularly expandable sensor cloud system for existing machines. Within a unique research environment, the world’s first 5G mobile radio network provides the opportunity to investigate and implement applications of 5G in production engineering.

Even though the attention of the mass media has long since turned to other technologies, the significance of blockchain technology is crystallizing more and more clearly. This article briefly describes the technology and uses an application example to show how the use of blockchain technology in the telecommunications industry could be linked to the benefit of all. The fact that our Internet is becoming slower and slower in its existing structure due to the increasing number of accesses via mobile devices can be observed in streaming services, among other things. Progressive digitalisation is producing digital data on an unprecedented scale. The challenge is to secure this data in stable networks at high transmission speeds. Widely diversified networks, which are connected to each other in a decentralized manner, promise a remedy. These structures are very familiar with blockchain technology and it can be assumed whether this technology has the potential to fundamentally change ...

Currently there are many optimistic expectations for the new and still little understood technology “blockchain”. This paper takes a critical stance and analyses the potential of blockchains in supply chain management (SCM). In the context of SCM, the application of blockchains promises transparency and traceability. It turns out that the expectations are not always met, because blockchains lose many of their positive characteristics when used in SCM. This is mainly due to the fact that both a digital level (information) and a physical level (goods) exist. In the original application area of blockchains - cryptocurrencies - only the digital level exists. In any case, blockchain technology (as well as every other technology) will not be able to solve the coordination problems within supply chain networks without the individual companies being willing to implement expensive IT interfaces and share their information.

Due to the advancing digitalization of business sectors and increasing competitive pressures, industrial companies are forced to promote their own digital transformation to sustain on the market. Here, the literature regards the CFO as a key corporate function to induct digitization initiatives within organizations. The blockchain technology, due to its features of transparency, immutability and cryptography combined with its ability to coordinate data flows of e. g. the IoT or AI, constitutes a suitable instrument for the CFO to meet the requirements of the Industry 4.0. The results are improvements of business processes in regard to efficiency and automation, a relocation of the CFO’s strategic role, improvements of CFO-relevant KPIs through integrating machines into payment networks as well as the emergence of integrated business ecosystems facilitating new forms of inter-organizational collaboration.

Blockchain technology attracted a great deal of attention with its first application Bitcoin. In addition to the multitude of practical solutions, initiatives and research efforts of the industry, the number of scientific publications on the topic of blockchain is comparatively low. Right now, there is a lack of universal standards and uniform terminology. One way of documenting blockchain technology could be a morphological box. In addition to the advantage of clarity, this type of information structuring offers further advantages that can be considered helpful in creating a comprehensive overview. In order to create such a morphological box, various features of the blockchain technology must be identified and described in detail. One of these features is the “business model”, for which the 4 different characteristics “infrastructure provider”, “platform provider”, “system integrator” and “application provider” have been identified.